


Coran Coran the Anti-Propoganda Man

by altalemur, genericfanatic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (and so are Alteans), Gen, Humans are Awesome, Propoganda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-05-26 11:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14999840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altalemur/pseuds/altalemur, https://archiveofourown.org/users/genericfanatic/pseuds/genericfanatic
Summary: While on a simple supply mission, the Paladins encounter virulent Galran Anti-Voltron Propoganda, and Coran is determined to stop it.Takes place instead of the Voltron Show





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Altalemur and I are determined that Coran deserves a proper focus episode, and so we've decided to write it ourselves. 
> 
> (Also, I can only speak for myself, but I take issue with the Voltron Show and so wanted a replacement episode....two seasons late but oops, here we are)

“SPACE MALL!” Lance, Hunk, and Pidge shouted in unison as they stepped off the transport. They threw their arms in the air and cheered, startling a number of nearby aliens.

“Oh, wow!” Allura said, looking at all the different levels, “It’s so different than you were telling me, Coran.” She literally spun in a circle, trying to absorb all the storefronts and signs as quickly as she could.

Coran grumped behind them. He had brought disguises again, only for all of the paladins to immediately reject his suggestions. He didn’t want to bring everyone anyway, but there were too many things he needed to get, and it would take far too long. Besides, once he’d mentioned going to the swap moon, everyone jumped on board like it was some kind of vacation. “Yes, well, still take caution. This moon may seem innocent, but it’s still under Galra control. We must be extremely--”

Pidge and Lance were already in the fountain. 

“If we get enough GAC we should be able to get Star Fortress 9 from that alien shop!” Pidge said, diving for coins, “It’s supposed to have a secret ending about the lost space duke!”

“I hope it’s that he turns out to be secretly good,” Lance said, “I want a redemption arc for my dark space son.”

“NUMBERS THREE AND FIVE OUT OF THE FOUNTAIN NOW!” Coran demanded.

Behind him, Shiro chuckled, “Relax, Coran. With all the coalition building, we haven’t gotten a break in a while. It’s good to get out and stretch our legs a bit.”

“I understand that,” Coran said, “But we have important business regarding the maintenance of the castle, and we must get to it!” 

“I thought we were here to pick up toilet paper,” Hunk said.

Coran turned on him with a look that would freeze a pack of yelmiers in their tracks. Behind him, Allura was giggling at poor Hunk’s misfortune. “Yes, Paladin, one of the things we will be getting is waste extraction stones, but! We also have a long list of other things that are integral to the ships general maintenance. I’ve put this off for as long as I could, but at some point we just can’t depend on 10,000 year old supplies.”

Pidge and Lance reluctantly came out of the fountain. Lance looked dejected at Coran. “Aww, errands? Uggh, even space can’t make errands exciting.”

“It’s not supposed to be exciting!” Coran said, “it’s supposed to be important! It IS important! Now, I’ve prepared lists for each of you, as well as some GAC I’ve managed to procure from our coalition allies.” He pulled out 6 bags of coins, and 6 little projectors, and started handing them out. When they dropped into each of their palms, a list projected out from them, so high each paladin became a beacon of light. The Paladins all made faces at the list. Pidge strained xer neck, trying to even read the items properly “you will each need to collect the items on here, and, to make it ‘fun,’” He scrunched his fingers into air quotes, “the first person to return with all their collected items gets this...Squeaky Weblum!” 

From his his pockets he drew a toy weblum and squeezed it. It made more of a honking noise than a squeak, making a nearby mall-goer jump. 

Lance and Allura tried to look excited, giving their best fake smiles. Shiro and Pidge just looked confused at it, and Hunk actually looked a little disgusted. The toy brought back bad memories. 

“Well,” Shiro said, “That sounds great, Coran, but I was really hoping to find some good star maps around here, maybe gather some intel about the surrounding Galra systems. Official Black Paladin stuff. You know.” He handed his list to Allura. “Gonna have to sit this one out.”

He walked away before Coran could protest. “Um, actually,” Allura said, “I’ve never gotten a chance to explore a real swap moon before, so, I thought I’d take my chance now that I have it.” She gave both lists she was holding to Pidge. “I’ll make sure to get everyone something sparkly!” She skipped off.

“Wait—!” Coran called, “Princess—“

“Ooh, this is awkward,” Pidge cut him off, “I promised Matt that I’d pick up some parts while I was here, he’s helping me build a new Rover! Rover 2.0, back and better than ever! So, uh—“ xe tossed the stack of lists into Hunk’s arms.

“Number 5!” Coran started to protest, but Hunk was already speaking.

“Yeah, I was planning on checking in with my restaurant?” He at least looked a bit guilty, “I left at a time of a lot of internal upheaval, so I need to make sure it’s okay. Plus I wanted to show them some new recipes I learned! Sorry.” He handed the stack over to Lance and backed away.

Lance stared after him, looking between his friends, and the list. Then, he looked between Coran, and the huge stack of lists creating a wall of projected light between him and Coran. “Um,” he started, trying to find his own good excuse, “uh...bye!” He tossed the lists at Coran and then took off, faster than he ever had in any training exercise. 

Coran sighed, left alone in the mall hallway, organizing the projectors in his hand. “Looks like it’s just you and me, Webby,” he said to the squeaky Weblum, giving it another squeeze. In the distance, a child started crying at the noise.

 

A few Vargas later the Paladins gathered in Vrepit Sals, eating one of Hunk’s latest creations and going over their purchases. Allura was practically, glittering from head to toe, Shiro was showing Hunk the Star maps and ship specs he had gotten, while Lance and Pidge had gone back to theorizing about the events of Star Fortress 9. 

The two were on the verge of a fight about who the Space Duke should date, when Hunk interrupted. “Hey, where’s Coran?” 

Pidge shrugged, glaring daggers at Lance, “I dunno, probably still going through that list of errands, I guess.”

Allura sighed, sipping her drink, “I do feel bad. Maybe some of us should have stayed behind to help him.” 

Shiro nodded in sympathy, but raised an eyebrow at the princess. “Would YOU have been willing to stay behind?”

“Oh, quiznak, no.” She said, going back to her drink. Shiro snorted at her. 

Lance was about to speak up, when a tapping cane at his elbow. Looking beside him, a small green child with big bug eyes and blotchy, bumpy skin was practically bouncing beside him. “Excuse me,” the child said, “are you...Blue the Cruel?”

“Uhhhhhhh,” Lance said dragging the note out in order to stall and look around to his friends, trying to see if any of them had any idea what he was talking about. They all looked just as confused as he was. “No? I don’t think so.”

“Oh,” the kid said, looking down and disappointed.

“Quenji!” A woman of the same species as the kid, clearly his mother, ran forward. “What have I told you about bothering strangers!”

“I thought I saw them, mommy!” The kid said as the mother collected them into her arms, “I thought they were the people from the news you always talk about!”

“They really weren’t bothering us too much, ma’am,” Lance said, “it’s not a—“

The woman looked up at him and screamed, attracting the attention of the whole food court. She stared horrified at Lance, who stared right back with confusion. “Um, ma’am?” Shiro asked. She turned to him, her face falling into more shock as she looked around the table. “Is there a—“

“Stay away!” She said, clutching her child close “please, we don’t mean any harm!”

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Allura said, starting to stand up, “please, why don’t you—“

The woman ran off, taking her child with her, and leaving them in awkward silence. “What was THAT about?” Lance asked, turning to them.

“Paladins!” They all turned to the sound of the call, but couldn’t immediately identify where it was coming from. “Over here!”

They zeroed I’m on Coran’s voice emanating from what appeared to be a pile of shopping bags with legs. “Coran!” Allura called, “here, let us help you with—“

“Never mind that,” he said, head peeking through a pair of bags balanced on his shoulders, “come with me, there’s something you should all see.” 

He led them to a store selling hologram projectors, most of them showing an advertisement for tentacle cleaners. “Um,” Hunk said, “this is nice of you, Coran, but humans don’t have tentacles, so—“

“Wait just a tick!” Coran cut him off, “it should be the next one in the cycle.”

 

The video starts with the scene of a generic, bustling intergalactic city, live action but clearly not a real city. It’s supposed to represent All Cities at once. Many different types of aliens, with a majority of Galra civilians, are in the crowd. It’s clean and everyone looks happy.

“The Galra Empire has brought stability and connection to most of the known universe,” the announcer speak amiably, before their tone goes lower and more dramatic. 

“But there is one force that threatens our beautiful empire.”

A dark shadow falls over the city and the people scream and run for shelter. The camera changes perspective, and in comes an animated version of the Voltron robot, in sharp contrast and deep shadows that make the face of Voltron very menacing. It also seems a lot more spikey than usual. Voltron lets out a beastial roar, and then starts shooting weapons freely. 

The camera changes perspective again to see a cartoon city get blown to pieces.

“Voltron is an ancient horror from before the Galra empire. Emperor Zarkon long thought this threat to all civilized people was gone forever. But it has returned...”

The animation continues with Voltron seemingly rising out of a huge dirt grave. There’s some cheesy horror movie music and a lightning strike as Voltron comes to life. Then the camera focuses on a madly cackling Allura. Or maybe something that is supposed to look enough like Allura. It’s a caricature, like a drawing done by someone who’d only heard rumors of what Alteans look like. Her ears are much pointier, and she looks a bit skeletal. Her Altean markings are much larger and prominent. Her hands glow with pink magic, outlined in high contrast in dark shadows.

“An ancient evil has resurrected this great weapon for its anti-Galra terrorism. Using an uncivilized species as its soldiers, Voltron has been sowing terror and destruction along the edges of the Galra empire.”

The cartoon Voltron blows up a Galra ship, then a planet the ship was right next to.

The video switches to live action of a civilization that is obviously starving. Everyone looks thin, tired, and sad.

“The instability that Voltron leaves in their path of destruction has disrupted supplies to countless planets, leaving many innocent bystanders to suffer.”

A live action shows a Galra general, General Gretzel. Their name and rank is displayed below their profile.

General Gretzel, “Voltron is the biggest threat known to our peaceful, prosperous civilization. Which is why every citizen must aid in the fight against this terrorist group. Remember, these are dangerous terrorists. Do not approach them or talk to them yourself.”

The video switches to more realistic looking depictions of the paladins and Allura. They’re lined up in similar fashion that criminal mugshots are shown on public broadcasts. Their features are a bit exaggerated to make them look menacing, and they are all in their paladin armor. Below the images are names for each of them: Black the Terrifying, Red the Hateful, Green the Conniving, Blue the Cruel, Yellow the Greedy, and Allura the Evil.

“If you see these terrorists, or any strange activity, report it to the Galra military. We are here to protect you.”

 

The video fades out, going to some other commercial, and leaving the Paladins stunned. 

Uncomfortably, they start to realize the stares they’re getting from the aliens around them, some gasping and rushing away, others looking angry, like they might start a mob if there were only more of them. 

“Lets...head back to the ship," Shiro's voice of reason says. They all nod and collect their bags speedwalking as fast as they can, their eyes darting to the suspicious glances the civilians all gave them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran determines a plan to counteract the Galran's propaganda, although Shiro is against it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This fic still exists!!
> 
> I'm in between several things so can't promise quick updates, but I'm not abandoning it.

“This is ridiculous!” Lance said, “I mean, did you HEAR that stuff they were saying about us?”

Lance paced back and forth in the common area where everyone was sitting, entirely disheartened. “It’s what the Galra have been saying for ages,” Pidge said, “They’ve had 10,000 years to convince people that Voltron’s the bad guy and Zarkon’s their savior.”

“But they can’t believe this, right?!” Hunk said, “I mean, they can see the way the Galra treat people. How can they believe ZARKON is a good guy?”

“Most people around the universe aren’t like the Balmerans, Hunk,” Allura said, “They’re oppressed, sure, and forced to stay silent, follow the Empire’s directive, but they’re under the belief that as long as they stay in line, they’ll be allowed to just live their lives unimpeded.”

“Heck, even the Balmerans thought that, at first,” Pidge added, “I mean, Rax turned you in, right?”

“Look, Rax can be kinda an asshole,” Hunk said, “But he wanted to protect his family. He was just misguided!”

“Yeah, misguided by this General Pretzel or whatever his name was,” Pidge said, “The Galra apparently have a whole department for this kinda stuff.”

“We gotta do something,” Lance said, pounding his fist into the palm of the opposite hand, “We gotta clear our names, show what we’re REALLY about!”

“No,” Shiro said, shaking his head. 

“But Shiro--!”

“I mean it,” Shiro said, “Like Pidge said, these guys have been pushing their agenda for years, I don’t want to get pulled into a PR battle with them. We’ll prove our real nature by doing what we’ve always done, going around to protect people in need.” 

Pidge and Allura nodded along with him. Hunk looked hesitant, and Lance frustrated, but eventually they both settled as well. Coran did not, instead sitting up. “I have to disagree, Shiro,” he said, “Public image is an incredibly important part of the war effort. I remember in the old days, tell of Alfor’s heroic deeds alone inspired people to join his cause, and those deeds were only heard of because someone was there to tell them.”

“People do hear of our deeds,” Shiro said, “The planets we’ve been to so far have been grateful. We don’t need to advertise ourselves. Let them smear all the mud they want at us, we’ll let our actions speak for us.”

“What, and not stand up for yourselves at all?!” Coran demanded, “Calling Voltron an ‘ancient menace,’ attacking the princess, not to mention that thing about you all being an ‘uncivilized species!’ I won’t have that sort of slander! It’s not right!

“Why are you so upset?” Lance asked him, “They didn’t even say anything about you.”

Coran opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. Instead, he snapped his mouth shut, and looked down and away. 

“They can say whatever they want,” Shiro dismissed. “The truth will come out. It always does.”

 

“Alright, team,” Shiro said as the lions flew in formation, “Let’s make this quick, the Galra won’t see what’s coming.”

The Paladins cheered, moving into intercept the Galra. They’d received a distress signal that a cargo freighter had been stopped by Empire Ships, set on taking all of their goods. 

“Cargo freighter,” Shiro called over the communicator, “Stay put, the Paladins of Voltron are here to help.”

“Vol-” the alien said, audio only. “Did you say VOLTRON?” 

Shiro frowned, but cut communications to focus on the task at hand. “Alright team, the objective is getting the ships to retreat with as little damage to the cargo ships as we can manage. Lance, Allura, start reigning down on them, try and get them to follow you. Pidge, you go in stealth to try and extract the Galra that are there. Hunk, you and I will prevent any ships from coming back to the Freighter.”

“Let’s Roll!” Lance said, blasting the Galra ship with lasers annoying them into following him. Well, if he had one talent….

The others followed suit, going along with Shiro’s plan. Everything was going perfectly, each part of Voltron working in perfect synchronization, until Pidge’s voice came over the speakers. “Guys, we have a bit of a situation here.” Over the communicator, they could all hear laser fire. 

“Is that the Galra?” Shiro asked, turning the Black Lion around to approach the cargo ship.

“No! That’s the situation!” xe yelled at them, “It’s the aliens!” 

“Wait, the freighter aliens?” Hunk said.

“Those would be the ones, yes,” Pidge yelled back, “I mean, their weapons aren’t that impressive, I doubt it would even go through my armor, and it just bounces off my shields, but I am kinda pinned in here. Should I return fire?”

“No!” Shiro yelled, “No, just...just wait for me, I’ll distract them so you can get out.” Shiro flew the black lion down to meet green, disembarking in the cargo bay. 

 

A mere varga later, the paladins were gathered back at the castle looking at the screens. Shiro sat with his head in his hands as Hunk vigorously patted him on the back. 

Shiro had successfully distracted the aliens, (who they now knew as Aganthians) and allowed Pidge to escape without any bloodshed, but it had come at a cost. The Aganthian ship apparently had security cameras, and had managed to take a particularly unflattering shot of Shiro. Shiro had explained he was getting in the face of one of them, as they had been threatening Pidge. Just looking at the image, though, it seemed as though Shiro was the one doing the threatening. 

“Dang,” Lance said, looking up at the scary picture of Shiro, “Pretzel works FAST.”

“This photo is getting spread halfway across the universe,” Pidge said, monitoring communications, “And….oh.”

“What is it?” Allura asked.

Pidge shook xer head, “Not important.”

“What is it?” Shiro repeated, rubbing his stressed face. The lines on his face were showing more prominently than usual. 

Sighing, Pidge pulled up the notification xe had put away. “A message from General Gretzel, this image today was taken of the apparent leader of Voltron, an uncivilized creature known as a human, who escaped from the Gladiator arenas after slaughtering hundreds of innocent aliens. His bloodthirsty ways could not be contained, as shown here. The Agathanians who took this picture were lucky to escape with their lives, but not lucky enough to keep their cargo. Voltron is known for taking what they want, without care of consequence. Please take caution and alert Galran authorities if you encounter anyone associated with Voltron.”

The team fell into silence. Shiro clutched his forehead again, his fingers digging into his scalp to the point it seemed he was trying to poke through his skull. “But those are lies!” Lance said, “They’re ALL lies! The Agathanians might not like us, but they know some truth at least!”

“Actually, they’re not. That’s what’s scary,” Allura said, looking at the statement. “‘Not lucky enough to keep their cargo,’ which is true although they don’t mention the Galra ships who stole from them. Also, the idea that humans are ‘uncivilized,’ which given modern galactic standards as your species has not yet mastered intergalactic flight, is also true.”

“Besides, we don’t know what happened in the Gladiator Arena,” Shiro said, “I could have killed hundreds of innocents. We have no way of knowing or disproving.”

“Hey, don’t think like that, man,” Hunk said sitting beside him. “Even...even IF it’s true, which I highly doubt, the Galra were the ones who put innocent lives in the arena. Including your own. You survived, that’s what’s important.”

Shiro gave him a half smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Looks like you were right, Coran,” Shiro said, “It is important.”

“I’ve never wished more I was wrong,” Coran said, looking sympathetic, “BUT! No need to sit around like a gaggle of Flibbian Marcals! We will overcome this latest enemy just as we’ve defeated all our previous ones!” 

“By battling a giant robeast?” Lance asked.

“Metaphorically speaking, Number 3!” Coran said, snapping at him. 

“So, what are we going to do?” Allura said, “We’re busy enough going around answering distress calls and building the coalition as it is.” 

“No need to worry, Princess,” Coran said, “This is a battle I will take on alone.”

The paladins looked to each other. “Uhh,” Hunk said, “How?”

Coran gave them a winning grin. “If this Gretzel fellow thinks he can defeat us with video, we’ll see how he likes a video of his own!”

 

Lance came down to the kitchen feeling refreshed and hungry. “Goooooood morning folks, what do we have for breakfast today?”

“QUIZNACK!” Pidge screamed, putting xer finger in xer mouth to dull the pain. 

“Well, I don’t know what a Quiznack tastes like, but honestly I’m willing to try it,” Lance said. 

“Breakfast’s on hold, Lance.” Hunk said, half buried in the wall behind the goo machine, “We ran out of goo this morning, trying to get it up and running, but the instructions are all in Altean.”

Lance pouted. He was hungry. “Wasn’t Coran supposed to fill that one up the other day?”

“Yeah, well, guess he didn’t. Too busy with that video he’s making.” Pidge said, diving back under with xer own wrench to try and help Hunk set things up. “No, no, Hunk, the Poanak has to attach to the Gizelbrozer.”

“I thought this WAS the Gizelbrozer!” Hunk said, voice sharp with irritation. 

“No, that’s the Klaxumeter.”

“AH!” There was the sound of clanging metal and a thump. Hunk wriggled himself out of the wall and clutched his head, “Dammit! Why don’t you connect things and I’ll read off the instructions?”

“Because I’m the one who reads Altean!” Pidge said, coming out with the instruction pad in hand. “Kind of, anyway.”

“I can read some Altean!” Hunk protested.

“I don’t think cooking recipes are going to help in this situation.” Pidge snapped back. They were both sweaty and irritated and hated being bested by machinery of any type.

“Oookay,” Lance said, ignoring his grumbling stomach, “You guys have fun with all this, let me know when it’s ready.” He backed out of the room, trying to keep the peace.

“Oh,” Pidge said, going back over the instructions, “Maybe that WAS the Gizelbrozer.”

Hunk was not a violent man, but still his eye twitched.

 

Lance grabbed a juice pouch on the way out. It didn’t satiate his hunger, but it was something. He walked all the way up to the bridge, but immediately regretted that too. “Uhhh...what’s going on?”

He was then hit with a chorus of “SHHHHH!”s. Allura was standing in front of a mirror, meticulously going over every every hair possibly out of place, wearing the nicest dress Lance had seen her in. Matt was sitting nearby, feet up at Pidge’s station with screens around him, sipping his own juice pouch, and watching the chaos that was the center of the room. 

Coran had set up a screen that seemed to be playing Voltron footage on a loop, mostly of the robot just flying through space. Shiro was propped in front of it on a platform, chest puffed out, hands on his hips, and eyes pleading with Lance to please, please help him.

“Eyes to the distance!” Coran ordered, having rover 2.0 fly around his head. Shiro’s head snapped forward and he stood still. “Yes...yes...more commanding. More confident. Not unfriendly! But not a pushover. Suave. Sophisticated. Serious, but not humorless.”

“Coran…” Shiro muttered, “My face can’t do that much.”

As silent as he could, Lance made his way over to sit next to Matt. “What’s he doing?” He whispered.

“Said he wants re-shoots from your old battles,” Matt whispered back.

“Re-shoots?” Lance asked, “he was filming us originally?”

Matt shrugged, “security footage mostly, I guess. Some of its pretty cool, this is my favorite.”

He pulled up his screens and showed the image of the blue lion on the balmera, hitting a rock spire. The video played on a loop, making Matt smirk and Lance grumble. “What are you even doing here? Shouldn’t you be off with your rebel friends?”

Matt shrugged again, “Coran asked for help with editing. I’ve been teaching him film terminology.”

“Quiet on stet!” Coran called over to them.

“It’s ‘set’” Matt called back.

“Either way, quiet!” Coran frowned at him, “And...action!” 

“Wait, What?” Shiro said, “what action?” 

“You’re supposed to jump off the platform, and then say your line!” Coran said exasperated, “didn’t you read your script?”

“There’s a script?” Shiro said, in way over his head. Matt tossed a data pad at him, nailing him in the head. Shiro glared at him, and then read. “Ok, ok, I got this.” 

He threw the data pad aside, nearly nailing Allura in the head. Coran stepped up, “aaand...action!”

Shiro lightly jumped off the platform and then putting his hands on his hips, facing the camera. “There’s no need to fear! Voltron is here!”

“Cut,” Coran said, exasperated. “There’s something missing, something...something dramatic, something grandiose!”

“I think he needs a little more flourish on it,” Lance said, “here, watch this.” Lance got up on the platform. Jumping into the air, he twirled, landing in a pose with his legs spread apart. “There’s no need to fear!” He announced, “Voltron is here!”

Coran applauded, “yes, perfect, that’s exactly it.” Lance beamed, and Coran came over to put a hand on his shoulder, “how would you like the role of Black Paladin?”

“What?” Shiro said, as Lance bounced on the balls of his feet, “no, I’m Black Paladin.”

“Aw, c’mon,” Lance whined, “you let Keith fly black, why can’t I?”

“Because! I’m Black Paladin! I want to be Black Paladin!” He sighed, feeling himself get angry. “Just...just teach me how to do that flip.”

“Coran!” Allura called, “I think I’m ready for the up close!”

“Close up,” Matt corrected.

“Hmm,” Coran said, circling her. She smiled, nervous. Coran put a single hair sticking out back into place. “Yes, yes you are. Alright, Shiro, you practice your entrance while we get Allura’s shot.” Shiro nodded, focusing on Lance’s instructions, “or we’ll just replace you with a stunt double,” he muttered to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran debuts his own video highlighting the features of Voltron, but General Gretzel is quick to respond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Only a month in between updates this time! Progress!

By the end of the day, the goo machine had finally been installed, Hunk and Pidge were exhausted, and Coran had apparently finished his commercial. Thus, he gathered them into the common area for the special “premiere.” 

He even made them all dress in formal uniforms. Many of them guessed, correctly, that this was Matt’s fault.

“Settle in, settle in,” Coran urged them, wearing a ridiculously oversized cape and hat that made him look like he was in a low-budget pirate musical. The low murmuring of the Paladins settled into a hesitant silence. “I just wanted to take a second to thank you all for your hard work, to make this a reality.”

The Paladins smiled up at him, “we’re all very excited, Coran,” Allura said.

“Excellent!” He said, “I’m also going to be broadcasting this to major communication stations across the universe. Well then,” he smiled, “without further ado, I give you, Voltron!!”

At the word, the lights dimmed and the screen flickered to life. A very robotic voice said ‘Voltron: Defender of the Universe.”

The screen practically exploded with lights and sound, a battle happening with laser fire exchanged back and forth. The Paladins held their ears, until the explosions faded into triumphant blaring music.

First, the blue lion swooped in, firing off a sonic blast. Next was the yellow, huge claws sinking into a Galra battleship. Then the green lion shot out a web of vines, capturing and immobilizing a sentry pod. Soon the red lion jumped in, hopping from ship to ship, tearing through them with its jawblade, faster than they could react. Finally, the black lion came up, roaring with fury.

“Voltron,” Coran’s voiceover came through, “five mechanical and magical Lions that make the most awesome warrior the universe has ever seen.”

The lions moved together in a dance, transforming into the giant robot man. “Piloted by 5 of the bravest Paladins in all the galaxies.”

On screen, the camera swirled up around Allura in her lovely dress, “Princess Allura of Altea, the Blue Paladin.”

Next, Hunk slammed his head down on a rock, breaking it in half. “Hunk, of the yellow lion.” The actual Hunk rubbed his head, muttering ‘I still have the headache.”

Then, the screen showed Pidge, hands moving quickly over a keyboard, the screen going through an eye-dizzying amount of code. “Pidge, of the Green Lion.”

The screen transitioned to Lance dropping from a rope and posing dramatically, one leg sticking up in the air, “Lance, of the Red lion,” Coran said. The actual Lance jumped, excited to see himself.

Then, Shiro did a practiced, if stiff, backflip onto screen. “And finally, “Shiro, of the Black Lion.”

The screen panned for all five Paladins, posing heroically. The music came to a triumphant finale, and the screen went dark.

Lance gave a hearty applause. Everyone else’s applause was more hesitant. “That was perfect!” He said, “it looked so cool, did you see me on the rope?!”

“It was…” Allura said, “very bright. And fast!”

“It looked like a video game, practically,” Pidge said.

Coran frowned, “is that a bad thing?”

“No, nonono,” Pidge said, “just...well it didn’t really tell a whole lot about us.”

“It was like a show promo,” Shiro said, “like we’re actors on some fancy action show.”

“Well, it’s supposed to draw you in!” Coran asked, “make you excited about you guys!”

“It’s certainly got someone excited,” Hunk said, “Gretzel’s broadcasting a response already.”

Hunk flipped a button on his control pad and General Gretzels face appeared on screen. “People of the Galra Empire. You have no doubt seen, as I have, the production that Voltron has put out merely moments ago.” He frowned, “there is no doubt in my mind that this was meant as a threat.”

“What!” Lance said, scowling.

“These Paladins think they can intimidate us, but we are strong. Take heart, citizens, the empire is here to protect you.”

“You’re the ones they need protecting from!” Coran’s voice rang over the screen. The Paladins looked around wildly, seeing Coran at his own computer station, hunched over it, scowling with all his might. 

“What?” Gretzel said, “who is this?” 

Coran’s face appeared alongside Gretzels, mustache twitching in anger. “I’m Coran, mechanic and supporter of Voltron!”

“Ha,” Gretzel sneered, “their slave, you mean.”

“What? No, of course not!” Coran said, “I help them voluntarily! I helped Alfor FORM Voltron 10,000 years ago!”

“I see,” Gretzel said, “a poor, brainwashed servant of the Ancient Alteans.”

“I’M Altean you quiznacking half-wit Galra—“

“Take a good look, citizens,” Gretzel cut him off, “this poor husk of a man is what the Terrible Princess and her Paladins want to turn you all into, blind servants bowed to their mighty will, but we will not let that happen!”

“Excuse you!” Coran yelled back, “I made that piece to correct mistakes in YOUR awful and highly inaccurate propaganda piece!”

“Inaccurate?” Gretzel said, his own temper rising, “you had the red Paladin wearing blue! And the blue Paladin wearing pink! That makes no sense!”

“It makes perfect sense!” Coran said, “Shiro disappeared, so Keith went to the black lion, and lance went to red, and Allura took up blue!”

“But Shiro was right there!” Gretzel said, “We all saw him attacking those poor people!”

“Let me finish!” Coran snapped, “and then we FOUND Shiro again, and then Keith left, and so you see it all make total sense!”

“Ha!” Gretzel said, “left, did he? Or did your precious princess KILL him?!”

“What?” Coran demanded, “of course she didn’t!”

“Killed off one of your own when they weren’t any more use to you…” Gretzel shook his head, “I’m disgusted!”

“He’s not dead, dammit!” Coran yelled, “And the paladins aren’t threatening anyone! We’re trying to spread freedom throughout the universe!”

“Freedom is a lie,” Gretzel said, “You just want to disrupt the peace and stability that the Galra has worked so hard to spread through the galaxies,”

“It’s NOT a lie!” Coran said, “Alfor fought for it, the Paladins fight for it, and the people will see and know that it is the way!”

“Freedom comes with chaos,” Gretzel said, “Anarchy, destruction, poverty, all of which we’ve seen clear examples of everywhere Voltron has left!”

“They’ve been freeing people from YOUR prison camps, YOUR slave mines! It’s the Galra causing these problems, not Voltron!”

“Oh really? Then where ARE these supposed victims? Oh, right, too busy picking up their lives after the mess Voltron left them in! Olkarion was once the center of technology in the universe, but Voltron arrives, and BAM!” He slammed his hand on his desk, “They’re pushed practically to the stone age! The Balmera was the center of energy, a living planet under the care of the Galra. Voltron arrives? WHAM!” He slams his desk again, “It’s barely living, wandering it’s way through the Galaxy.”

“That’s not true!” Coran said, “Those are BLATANT lies! We helped the Olkari! And the Balmerans! They weren’t living in peace, they were living in shackles!”

“Where’s your proof?” Gretzel demanded, “Besides your videos of Voltron destroying helpless Galra Mercy ships?”

“MERCY?!” Coran’s voice had raised so high in pitch with indignation it was starting to get hard to understand, “Those were WAR ships you treacherous--”

“Well, I suppose it’s your word against mine,” Gretzel said, pleased at how upset Coran was getting, “But the people know who provide for them, who protects them. Pay no mind to this Voltron stooge. Trust in the Galra, and we will preserve your peaceful lives, your jobs, your homes, and your families. They can scream all they want, trying to divide us, but the Empire stands strong together. We are better than they give us credit for. Stay strong, my people, and we shall overcome Voltron and any other challenger to our way of life.”

The transmission cut out, leaving Coran fuming, and the Paladins staring at him, concerned.

Hunk was the first to break the silence, clearing his throat, “Well, that could have gone better.”

Coran sneered like a Tarkelian Razor Beast, eyes gleaming and fists balled at his side. “I have to make another video.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Shiro said, stepping forward, “This first one was….well, it was a great attempt, but in the end it kinda….”

“Kinda made us look like bloodthirsty warriors proud of our conquesting ability and bragging about all the ways we can fight.” Pidge piped up. The other paladins turned on xem angrily, “What? I’m just saying what it SEEMED like.”

“I think what Pidge is TRYING to say,” Allura cut in, “is that Gretzel and the Empire have been working on their propaganda for 10,000 years. They’re well practiced in their lies, and we’re not going to be able to stop all of that with one video. It was a valiant effort, really, but maybe we’re better off going with Shiro’s original plan. Show the people our virtues in our actions, not by playing into their game.”

Coran’s eye twitched, “We TRIED that before, and it didn’t work!”

“I dunno, man,” Lance said, shaking his head, “I don’t like what they’re saying any more than you do. But it’s like...whatever we do just gives them more fodder for what THEY’RE saying. So, maybe the best way is to like...do what we do, you know, try not to mind them.” 

“And there are people who’ll believe us, no matter what!” Hunk said, “The Balmerans know the truth, and they’ll spread that to everyone they meet. Word will get out on it’s own.”

“But I know my mistakes now!” Coran said, desperately, “I KNOW I can find a way to beat this Gretzel! I just need a chance!”

“You mean like the chance you just had?” Matt asked, getting the full force of Coran’s glare turned at him. “I’m just saying, of all the battles to lose, this isn’t a bad one. Why don’t we call this one a defeat, and just, move onto the next one. Focus on the REAL battles and all.”

Coran’s eyes twitched again, once, twice, his mouth doing gymnastics under his mustache as he tried to come up with a proper response. “Fine,” he muttered finally, “You all leave it. Go back to...to the ‘real’ battles,” He stood up tall, “But I won’t give in so easily. No surrender to the Galra is a good surrender! And if I must fight this battle myself, then by Groggery, King of Altea, the Sickly and Infirm, then I will do it!”

With that, he turned around on his heel and marched out of the room, the door shutting behind him with an audible ‘slam.’ 

The paladins and Matt were left in silence, “Interesting,” Pidge finally said, adjusting xer glasses, “I didn’t even know the sliding doors COULD slam.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran locks himself away to work on his new video, meanwhile the Paladins all feel his absence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has come to my attention that I neglected who has written what in this. Altalemur wrote the amazing Galran propaganda video in Chapter 1 and has given a great deal of inspiration with the outline and for chapters to come.

“Alright,” Shiro said, coming into the main room with his pants soaking wet, “I’m not mad, I just want to know. Who wrecked the toilets?”

“Sorry, that was me,” Pidge said, xer feet poking out from the depths of a hole in the wall, “I had to take apart some non-key systems to cannibalize parts for the life support system. I’ll go back to fix it later.”

Shiro frowned, not really thinking that waste removal WAS a non-key system, specifically when he very much needed to use it and it just spat water all over him. “How long is later?” he asked.

“When I’m done with this!” xe snapped at him, “Excuse me for making sure the OXYGEN regulators are functioning properly, but I tend to enjoy breathing.” 

Shiro sighed, knowing xe was right. Still, he really had to pee, and it wasn’t like there were trees on a giant alien spaceship. “I’m sorry,” he said, diffusing the situation, “What can I do to help?”

Xe rolled out from the wall, looking up, “Can I borrow your metal arm for a few hours?”

“What can I do short of that?” Shiro asked. It’s not that he didn’t TRUST Pidge, it was that he DID know xem well enough that xe’d definitely take it apart and put it back together and he just wasn’t willing to risk that. 

Pidge sighed and sat up, wiping sweat from xer head. “Who I really need it Coran,” xe said, “Altean atmosphere is different than Earth’s, with a higher oxygen content and different chemical make-up, and don’t get me started on the gravity.” Xe took a swig from xer water bottle, “I’m translating best I can, but I was literally just raised on a different system. The translations assume I know things an Altean engineer would. I’m mostly just making guesses.”

“Can’t Allura help you with that?” 

“Allura’s not a scientist,” Pidge said, “An Earth Princess probably wouldn’t know how to program an Earth ship’s atmosphere. Same thing here. Besides, she’s busy.” 

Shiro sighed, feeling a pain in his bladder. “Well, maybe I’ll go help her,” Maybe she knows about another bathroom, he thought privately to himself.

“Knock yourself out,” Pidge said, going back into her wall prison.

Shiro made his way to the control deck to find Allura looking only slightly less frazzled than Pidge. Her hair was sticking out in all directions, eyes wide and laser focused on the screen in front of her. “Uh...Allura?” he asked.

“Huh?” was her only response, not looking up. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Weapons system calibration,” she answered curtly, mouth hanging open as her eyes darted around the screen. He was pretty sure she wasn’t blinking. 

Shiro waved a hand in front of her face, startling her into reality, “what the--”

“You’re going to hurt your eyes,” Shiro said. 

Proving his point, Allura started rubbing them, looking like a tired child. “Mm, what time is it?”

“Mid-quintant,” he said, “How long have you been working on this?”

She groaned and yawned, “Since I got up,” she said, starting to stretch her stiff muscles, “But this needed doing, and Coran’s not coming out of his room.”

“Pidge mentioned something like that,” Shiro said, “How often does he do this?” 

“Every few days, I think?” she said, “It’s a tricky think...more art than science. Coran knows this ship like his own mustache, He has a real feel for it,” Allura blinked incessantly, trying to get her eyes to adjust to normal light, “I feel more like I’m just blundering through blindly.”

“Anything I can do?” Shiro asked. 

She shook her head, “It’s kind of a one-person job, sorry,” she said, “I could use some food though.”

“You got it,” Shiro nodded. “Uh, before I go, just...is there any other bathrooms on the ship.”

Allura shook her head, “Alteans only need to use one once a phoebe or so, so one tends is enough for us.”

Shiro sighs. “Thanks anyway,” and he headed to the kitchen. 

The kitchen was significantly less quiet than the control room, but it’s occupant was no less frantic. Hunk was hopping around the area, banging pots and pans onto counters, opening and slamming cabinet drawers, and sometimes putting out literal fires. He was a one man whirlwind, and Shiro was positive if he got in his way he’d be knocked over. 

“Uh...Hunk?” Shiro asked, “Everything ok?”

“Does it LOOK ok?” Hunk demanded of him. He slid a lid over a flaming pan and extinguished the flames. “Pidge has been messing with the systems ALL morning, and it’s thrown everything haywire. Every time I have one thing under control, something--” A drawer beside him banged open, Viscous orange liquid draining onto the floor. “Something else happens,” he says, trying to close the drawer again while simultaneously not slipping on the liquid.

“Yeah,” he said, “I was having similar problems earlier myself.” His bladder strained again, upset he was not rushing to relieve himself. 

“It doesn’t help,” Hunk said, struggling, “That Coran usually helps me with the meals.” He sighs, managing to get it closed, though the hinges were still covered, as was most of Hunk’s shoulder, “He may not have much of a sense of human taste buds, but he at least has an extra set of hands.”

“If you need,” Shiro said, “I could always help--”

“NO!” Hunk spun on his heel so fast he slipped and clutched the counter top for dear life, definitely getting a bruise in the process. 

“Oh, come on,” Shiro said, “You have to forgive me for that eventually.” Shiro had tried to cook on the space ship exactly once. The burn smell permeated the air of half the castle for QUINTANTS, and Coran had to fix the ventilation system, not to mention the fire suppression system. Worst of all, he’d made Hunk cry.

Hunk sighed, “Of course I forgive you,” he said, “I just don’t want to have a reason to un-forgive you.” He reached for cleaning supplies, “You can mop up if you want to help, though.” 

He pulled out an alien mop (or ‘absorber’ as it was apparently called) and a bucket of water. The water swished, making Shiro have to grit his teeth to not just ruin his pants right there. “Um,” he said, “I think I better not.” He shifted uncomfortably.

Hunk frowned at him, “You alright?” 

Shiro sighed, “The bathroom’s not working either.”

“Ohhhh,” Hunk nodded in understanding, “Talk to Lance about that, he still hasn’t really figured out the Altean’s bathroom situation, so he figured out a way to avoid it. Won’t tell me how, though. Maybe he’ll be kind and help a soul in need.”

Shiro smiled, “Thanks.”

 

He found Lance in the teleduv, scrubbing scaltrite lenses and raining down a storm of Spanish swears he wasn’t sure he wanted to understand. “Let me guess,” Shiro said, “Coran usually cleans the lenses, but in his absence, you have to do it.”

“Not just the lenses,” he said, throwing down his rag, “the whole damn castle!” He collapsed dramatically, “the med pods, the lions, the engine room, the sewage system,” he looked Shiro in the eye, “do you even know what’s down there?” 

“Nope, and I don’t want to,” Shiro said, “But I do know said system is down currently, part of why I came here,” he sighed, wondering how to ask this, “Hunk said you know a way around the sewers? For someone who needs it?”

Lance stretched to grab his empty water pouch, and tossed it over to Shiro. He had trouble grabbing it, but managed. 

It took a long moment just staring between Lance and the pouch before he realized what he intended. “You can’t be serious.”

“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” Lance said, “just do your business, stick it in the airlock, the” he made swoosh sounds, “out into space.”

Shiro grimaced, “that’s disgusting.”

“Not really,” He said, “I like to think of it as ‘making my mark’ on a new star system. ‘Sides Space is big enough for all my shit,” he grinned at his pun, “oh, don’t toss it out airlock 3, though, it’ll hit the pylons of the castle, and then Coran WILL make you go out and clean it.”

Shiro nodded, his trail of thought getting lost, “Seems like Coran does a lot more on this ship than we realized, huh?”

Lance smirked, thinking almost remorsefully. “I thought I’d been helping him,” he said, “with cleaning and stuff. But I had no idea how much of it he did himself.” He shook, thinking again about whatever he had found in the sewers. “Don’t you have business to attend to?” He nodded at the water pouch.

His bladder reminded him that yes, he very much indeed DID. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“When you’re done, come back and help!” Lance called, “I still have the starboard wing to do!”

“I’ll see what I can do!” Shiro called over his shoulder, having very little intention of returning. He didn’t want to know what other horrors the ship held.

Instead, after he was done with his business, Shiro made his way to Coran’s room. He hadn’t been to his room before. It was one of the crew quarters, like the rest of the Paladins, but closest to Allura’s room. Allura had the second largest room in the castle, aside from Alfor’s, but she refused to move into it.

It was kind of odd, Shiro often thought of himself as the adult, surrounded by children, having to care for the rest of his team, isolated from his fellow adults. And yet Coran was his elder by….a lot. He supposed it made sense, that he was closer to those he was closest in age to, but still, he never really considered Coran for companionship beyond their activities as a group. 

He knocked on the door, “Hey, Coran?” He asked, “are you in there?”

There was no reply. He tried knocking louder, in case Coran couldn’t hear. “CORAN?” He asked, raising his voice. 

He was about to turn away when the door creaked open, and a single eye peeked out at him. “Uhh, Coran?”

“What?” Coran asked, voice low.

Shiro swallowed, “Hey, Coran,” he said, “we’ve been missing you out here.” Coran didn’t respond, didn’t even blink. “Uh...how’s the video coming along?”

“It needs more work,” Coran snapped at him. 

Shiro sighed, “look, I know this whole thing is important to you,” He said, “But we could really use your help running the ship.”

“It’s fine,” Coran said, “it’s not as though I’m one of the Paladins or anything.”

Shiro bit his cheek, “Coran…” he asked, “have you...been feeling left out?”

“Left out? Left out of what?” Coran said, just a little too quickly and harshly to be believable, “I’m not a baby! I’m a grown man with...with things! Important things to do! It doesn’t matter what anyone says!”

Shiro frowned, “I...don’t know if I follow,” Shiro said slowly, “but, you know, you’re an important part of this crew, of this team. No one has been saying anything bad about you.”

He saw the single eyebrow bury into a frown. “I don’t need to be coddled. Now excuse me, I have a lot of work to do!”

“Coran—“ But He was cut off as the door slammed shut. How did he do that. 

Sighing, Shiro looked out the window. The water pouch full of his, Uh, waste, was floating just outside. 

Maturely, he pulled the blinds on the window.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran releases his new video, and the Paladins consider how they think about their mustachioed man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I combined two chapters into one because of flow, hope you all end up liking it!

“This is too much,” Lance said as they were all gathered for food, feeling half dead after a long day of work and a small voltron battle, “We have to get him out of there.”

“What do you suggest?” Pidge said, cleaning xer glasses, “We rush the door and drag him out of his room?”

“Well, maybe not something THAT dramatic,” Lance admitted.

“I don’t think anything less than that is going to get him out of there,” Hunk said, “we’ve all tried to reason with him. Even Allura couldn’t convince him to come out.”

Allura sighed. “We might just have to wait this out,” she said, “he’ll be done eventually.”

“And what do we do in the meantime?” Lance asked, “I can’t keep up with all this cleaning! He must have some simple trick or something!”

“No,” Shiro said, looking pensive. “This is what Coran does, every day while we’re focusing on other things.” He sighed, “and we never noticed.”

The other Paladins all looked down, feeling ashamed. “Well what DO we do?” Pidge said, “we can’t keep this all up for much longer. And what if we need the castle to support us while we’re fighting as Voltron?”

“Maybe we can call Matt back in?” Hunk suggested, “he can certainly help with repairs and stuff. Maybe we can get him acquainted with the weapon system too.”

“Matt’s busy with his own work for the rebellion,” Shiro dismissed. 

Hunk pondered this. “Well, maybe Slav—“

“No,” he was told by Shiro, Lance, and Pidge simultaneously. 

“Look, I’ve known Coran my whole life,” Allura said, “He gets...passionate, about his projects. Especially when he feels he has to prove something.”

“Well, What is it he feels he has to prove?” Lance asked.

There was a long silence as they all looked between each other. “Himself,” Shiro finally answered.

No one knew what to say to that, so they stayed silent. A beeping finally startled them all out of their own thoughts, and Pidge went to take a look. “There’s a message being broadcast on all frequencies, maximum range across the galaxy.”

“Broadcasting from where?” Shiro asked, on alert.

“From…” Pidge trailer off, turning from xer screen to stare back at them, surprised, “from here.”

“Coran’s message,” Allura muttered, mostly to herself, “Pidge, put it on screen.”

No one knew what to expect, but the last thing they would have guessed was the person before them. “Shay!” Hunk called out on sight.

The pre-recorded Shay did not respond. “There has been some vicious lies spreading throughout the universe about Voltron. I’ve been asked to give my own account.

“For centuries, my people were forced to live underground, harvesting Balmera Crystals to power Galra weapons. We were enslaved on our own land, being forced to kill our own planet. It was only when Voltron came that we were finally freed.” Footage of the planets surface played, Balmerans milling about, “Now we can live up in the sun. Our people are healthier, now that we can care for them. Princess Allura actually healed the damage done to our planet, nearly sacrificing her own life in doing so. Now we work WITH the planet, instead of against it. Voltron saved the Balmera, and our people.”

The footage switched to the mermaid planet, showing Queen Luxia, “Before Voltron, I and my people were mind controlled by a terrible beast, trapped under the ice. When the Blue and Yellow Paladins came, they freed us, and defeated the monster. Now, we can actually start working on our own space force, and take part in the universe around us.”

They were surprised when Keith’s face popped up. “Um, I’m not dead? Apparently that was a rumor that was going around? But no, I’m here, just. Not with Voltron. Right now.”

More video footage played, one after the other. The Arusians, the Olkari, the Taujeerians, the Puigans...all of them told the tale of how Voltron came along and saved them.

Slowly, the Paladins sat back, watching reel after reel play, praising their accomplishments, showing the great effects they’ve had on the universe and the people in it. Some of them had specific accounts, telling the accomplishments of just one, or a few Paladins. Every time they did, the Paladin in question perked up, sometimes humble, sometimes excitedly pointing at the screen (Lance. That last one was Lance.)

Suddenly, the footage cut out. “What happened?” Shiro asked. 

“The Galra are blocking the transmission,” xe said, but then smiled, “but it’s too late. The file has already been copied over 3 million times across the galaxy, and it’s getting spread even further. Plus,” she brought up new footage, other people are sending out their own stories, broadcasting from their own planets. The Galra can’t shut down all of them.”

“Guess even ole’ Pretzel can’t counter the real, honest truth,” Hunk said with a grin.

“And he’s tried to shut it down,” Shiro smirked, “that’ll ensure EVERYONE sees it.”

They watched more videos pile in. “He really loves us,” Allura said. They looked at her, to see what she meant. “Coran, I mean. He cares about us all so much.”

They looked back at the screen and thought. They thought about all the work it must have taken, getting video messages from so many planets, putting it all together. They thought about the work they had been doing that week in Coran’s absence, work hard enough for five people, let alone one man who never complained, never brought it up at all. 

“I have an idea,” Lance said. 

 

Coran cracked every single joint in his body as he finally stepped out of his room. His eyes hurt for staring at screens for days on end, and his muscles ached from their atrophy. 

He made his way down to the training room, where he assumed everyone would be. “Guys? I’m all done now, I’m ready to get back to work.” He looked around. There was no sign of them.

He went down to the control room. “Hello? Anybody?” But there was no one there either. 

He checked the dining room, the kitchen, the Paladins’ rooms, the lions’ hangars, and still no sight of anyone. “Do they all hate me now?” He wondered aloud. He had abandoned them for the better part of a week, on a project they didn’t consider important. 

He checked the last place on his list, the common room. He didn’t see anyone there either, but there was one odd thing. The video screen was down. “Is someone here?”

In answer, the screen turned on, making Coran yelp and jump. He blinked as Lance came over the video screen. “I’m a pretty strong Paladin, but even I can admit to feeling a bit homesick from time to time. Just before I rescued him, like the daring hero I am, sacrificing myself to—“

There came another voice offscreen, this one Pidge hissing a “Lance,”

“I’m getting to it,” Lance hissed back. “Coran was the one who was there for me, who helped to adjust me to this strange new life in space.”

The video switched to Pidge, adjusting xer glasses, “I’ve always had a knack for tech, but the new technologies and information the greater universe offered me was overwhelming. Coran was the one to teach me, to introduce me to these new systems, expanding my mind and understanding of the limits of the universe,” xe smiled, “and the limits of myself.”

Hunk’s image replaced Pidge’s. “Although we have….different...tastes, I’ve never had a better sous chef than Coran. He introduced me to ingredients across the universe, and together we crafted amazing meals. It’s been wonderful to cook with someone again, like I did with my own family.”

Then it was Shiro. “Coran is a soldier of many talents and experiences, he has a skill for any given situation, and he always offers help to anyone who needs it. He’s wiser than he seems, and never fails to help us laugh when we need to. And quiz all knows we need to.”

Finally, it was Allura’s turn. “Coran has always been close to me, he was a fixed presence ever since I was young. He was there to teach me, guide me, support me, even at my lowest. And now he’s all I have left of Ancient Altea, but I know our heritage is in no better hands than him.”

Behind Coran, the Paladins had crept up, watching him watch the video. “We thought your video was missing a part,” Lance said.

“A very important part of team Voltron.” Allura added.

Coran turned, facing them, his face a river of tears soaking his mustache. “Don’t mind me,” he said, trying to wipe the tears away, “I just have some orblands in my eye.”

“Aww,” Hunk said, “GROUP HUG!” 

They all descended, and Coran gave up any pretense as he sobbed, surrounded by his friends.


End file.
